Single mum swaps banking for animation and Wrexham Glyndwr University Computing course

18 August 2017

A SINGLE mum who built a career in banking after leaving school with few qualifications decided on a change in direction and is creating animated characters on a leading Computing course.

Jenny Robertson Miller worked in marketing and sales before joining the banking sector, having left Darland High School in Rossett as a 16 year-old.

The 39 year-old was forced to leave employment due to rising childcare costs following the birth of her daughters – Charlotte, seven, and five year-old Issy – and was considering a return to work before deciding to apply for a degree and follow her dream of running an IT or online business.

Jenny, from Penley, joined the BSc Creative Computing via a foundation year, and is about to enter the second year.

As a mature student with little free time she was concerned as to whether a degree would be too much to take on.

She need not have worried; the support and flexibility of both the course and its lecturers made life a lot easier for Jenny, who is looking forward to the future and success with her own company.

“I left school with no real qualifications and went straight to work, so I thought the chances of me going to university had passed me by,” she said.

“I went into banking and worked my way up at several companies, and I spent some time with a company at the University’s OpTIC Centre in St Asaph – that’s where I started to get a taste for university and studying for a higher education.

“But after the birth of my two daughters it became difficult to balance working in finance and home life, and I was forced to go on benefits for a few years.

“I always kept that dream alive, though, and when it came to a choice of going back into banking and doing anti-social hours or taking the plunge and study I degree, I decided to go for a degree.”

A friend suggested Wrexham Glyndwr University, and after flicking through the pages of the 2015/16 prospectus Jenny decided to begin her journey into academia.

“I really needed a fresh challenge and Wrexham Glyndwr has given me that,” she said.

“When I received a letter telling me I was accepted I was so happy, but also terrified as I’d been out of education for almost 25 years.

“It was a little daunting at first, especially being a mature student, but I found there were people of all ages on the course and everyone worked and mixed well together, helping and supporting each other with assignments.”

Jenny added: “I’m loving it, especially the work we are doing with coding and 3D graphics in creating animated South Park-style characters.

“I remember visiting the studios in Hollywood where The Simpsons was being created many years ago and thinking about how much I would like to do that – and now I am!

“That is one of the many fun things we have been studying, and while it is challenging I would encourage anyone – especially people who are concerned they may not have the relevant qualifications – to find out more about studying a degree via a foundation year.”

Her journey has also been given the thumbs-up by her Charlotte and Issy, who said: “We are really proud of mummy she’s doing brilliant, though it’s funny she’s gone back to school, just like us!”

For more on Computing at Wrexham Glyndwr University, visit www.glyndwr.ac.uk or visit the open day on Saturday September 9 from 10am-2pm.